Thomas County cat. [volume] (Colby, Kan.) 1885-1891, 1887-10-13
EGG PRODUCTION.
Conditions Necessary to Insure 1t During
the Winter Months.

Complaint has been made against
the moon because it only shines on
light nights and against the hens be-
cause they only produce large num-
bers OF eggs at times when they arc
very cheap. One complaint is about
rs reasonable as the other. Birds in
this climate lay eggs during the spring
and early summer for the reason
given by the author of a pious and
popular nursery song for the hab:tual
growing and fighting of bears and
lions: Its their nature to-" 1t
they produce eggs out of the ordinary
season and so late that they would
most likely be frozen in the nests be-
fore they incubated. it is because they
were Matched early in the spring, ar
rived at the degree of development
when they naturally begin to seek to
propagate their species. are kept in
quarters where the temperature will
he nearly like that of early spring.
have abundant opportunity for taking
exercise. and are supplied with the
variety and kinds of food they can or
dinarily obtain during warm weather.
and they are allowed to 90 about with
out restraint.
When all these condi tons obtain,
there is good prospect for securing
eggs during cold weather. 1t is a
matter of common observation that
pullets Matched early during the
previous spring are much more likely
to lay in the winter than old hens.
Old hens that brought up flocks of
chickens during the summer are likely
to produce eggs during the winter if
they are supplied with suitable food.
They will take on flesh and fat after
their chickens begin to take care Of
themselves, and be recuperatcd to such
an extent that they will commence to
lay. Authorities on poultry manage
ment generally caution their readers
against allowing hens from which
they expect eggs to become far. but
many have observed that old hens
xskut up in coops for the purpose OF
fattening them for the market soon
commence to produce eggs. that are
found in them, partially formed. wher
they are dressed. That some breeds
of hens are better winter layers than
Others is certain.
Hens that are expected to produce
eggs during the winter should be kept
in dry, light, warm and well-ventilat-
ed buildings. 1t is generally impracti-
cal to warm poultry-house by means
Of heat generated in a stove. A fire
in an outbuilding is likely to be q
source of danger. is expensive and
troublesome, and if not carefully at
tended to will produce too high a
temperature for the comfort and good
of the fowls. If it ''goes down." the
birds will suffer more from the cold
than they would if no artificial heat
had been employed to warm the build
ing. Glass windows on the east and
south sides of poultry-houses afford
the best means of warming them. The
rays of heat that pass from the sun
through glass do not go back the way
they come. This is shown in cold
frames and fruit-houses that are GOV.
cred with glass, but in which no heat
is generated by combustion or the
fermentation of manure. rs in the case
of n garden hot-bed. The tempera-
ture produced by solar heat is more
constant and uniform than that pro-
duced by the combustion of any kind
of fuel in stove.
A poultry-house should be well vcn-
tilated. Provisions should be made for
an outlet for the Initiated atmosphere.
The air should be changed every
far day by opening the doors and
windows and allowing a draft to pass
through the building. During this
time it will be best to allow the fowls
TO have the run of yard and 10 take
exercise in running about. picking up
scattered grains and scratching the
ground All birds are active BY nature.
aud are likely to fall off in condition if
they are prevented from taking an
amount OF exercise during the winter
10y giving them bundles of grain and
cabbage-heads to pick from. They
should have shallow boxes of fine
earth. sand. or ashes in which they can
take dust bath. and in that way keep
their feathers clean and proven IN
sects from remaining on their bodies.
The water supply of the poultry-house
should receive strict attention during
the winter if hens are expected to lay.
rs eggs are very largely composed of
water
Birds are very fond of variety of
food. and domesticated fowls are no
exception to the general rule. They
will do very good if allowed no more
kinds of food than horses are supplied
with They require seeds of various
sorts. vegetables, fruits and flesh
They need in addition lime for forming
HE shells of eggs, and sharp gravel
for supplying the crop with material
for preparing the food for digestion.
Bones, reduced to pieces about the size
Of the grains of wheat. are excellent
for both purposes. Corn should be one
of the leading kinds of food for fowls
during the winter. but they should
have some wheat oats, rye or barley.
Cooked peas and beans are fed to fowls
in France with the best results, as are
cooked potatoeS. carrots and parSuips.